Key Takeaways
- France was the first country to endorse the UN Open Source Principles. This brings the total endorsements up to 36.
- Recently, the French government released La Suite numerique. This is an open-source collection for collaboration tools among French government officials.
- French AI company Mistral AI is developing open-source AI model that can beat DeepSeek.
France has become the first country to endorse the UN Open Source Principles () – an initiative taken by the UN Chief Executive Board’s Digital Technology Network to support the development and use of open-source technologies within the UN.
The United States, France and the United Kingdom are also part of the UN Open Source Principles has added 19 new endorsers bringing the total to 36. The initiative has eight principles for open-source project development. Open source is to be the default for project development. There’s also an emphasis on building interoperable project to boost reusability, and enable diverse and inclusivity contributions. Transparency is the biggest benefit to open-source software. The code of any program is accessible to the public. This allows anyone to inspect and improve it. It also builds trust between developers and users.
If you use an open-source app for tracking your health, you can see the exact information it collects. This includes personal information. This ensures that there are no hidden back doors, and users are kept in the dark.
The European Commission has also published a document. Open Source Software Strategy 2020-2023 ( ) to encourage and leverage collaboration in open source. The EC is also focused on spreading low-cost software benefits to society, just like the UN.
French Government Supporting Open Source.
French government has developed a program called Open Source. The numerical suite ( ) – a digital collaboration platform that is open-source and can replace Microsoft 365 for corporate environments.
Its Visio tool, for example, can be used for videoconferencing. It does not impose time restrictions for meetings, regardless of group size – making it a great alternative to MS Teams. You can also use Tchap which is an instant messaging app that offers a single channel of communication for your entire team.
Install the Docs app from La Suite numérique if you want to work with documents. This one comes with features like media imports and offline mode. Moreover, several users can work simultaneously, meaning real-time collaboration is as simple as any mainstream docs app.
La Suite numérique also has a cloud storage app called Drive, a webmail service called Messagerie, and a secure file transfer service called France Transfert. Several other tools are also under development.
Currently, La Suite numérique is only available to the French public administration and for official government use. However, it’s important to ponder the kind of affordability benefits tools like this can bring. Businesses can end up saving the cost of licensing each individual app for hundreds of thousands of devices.
Another open-source initiative from France is Mistral AI. This AI startup is working on open-source AI models that are powerful enough to outperform DeepSeek. CEO Arthur Mensch said that the company’s core focus is on open-source technology, which can help companies ‘build on top of one another.’
This is an entirely different approach to OpenAI. Despite being named after open source technology, the Altman-driven company has kept its advanced models, such as ChatGPT, GPT-4, and DALL-E, as closed source projects.
Imagine open-source technology as the peak form of community building. So, if someone wants to build something similar to or better than Mistral AI, they can view and take inspiration from its code, which can give them a head start and help them build something better.
However, if you want to build something like ChatGPT, you’ll have no resources and will need to start from scratch. This is precisely what the United Nations wants to change, and open-source technology aligns well with its objectives of transparency and inclusion.
Open-source projects allow smaller players who do not have access to endless resources to contribute to the overall development of critical AI projects.
The French government seems to have caught the cue. With in-house open-source tech development, open-source AI startups, and endorsement of the UN Open Source Principles, France now stands at the forefront of the open-source movement.
Anything Can Be Open Source
It’s worth noting that open-source technology isn’t just limited to AI or a select few industries. Any service offered on the internet can go open source, which is evident by the kind of support the UN open source principles have received.
For example, one of the endorsees is F-Droid, which is an open-source alternative to the Google Play Store. Every app listed on F-Droid is open source and completely free. Plus, it doesn’t use any hidden analytics or ads to gather user data, making it a much safer and more transparent app marketplace than what we commonly use.
The WordPress Foundation has also supported the initiative. It aims to build a stable content management system (CMS) for web publishing.
The Apereo Foundation, a nonprofit built with the aim of helping open-source advancements in higher education, has also endorsed the UN Open Source Principles. Currently, Apereo has more than 25 open-source projects focusing on privacy and decentralization.
You can see that businesses from different sectors have joined together to support the UN’s open-source initiative.
The biggest ‘flaw,’ however, of open-source technology is its anti-capitalistic character. This means that for-profit companies would not actively support open-source technology. Why would you want to reveal the secret ingredient in your best-selling dish, is a pretty obvious question.
The two things that capitalism depends on are lower costs and lower entry barriers. As unfortunate as it may be, we may never see tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI adopt a fully-open-source approach.
With the development of open source projects supported by different governments, the user-base might gradually shift away from traditional tech manufacturers. There’s still a way to go until open-source products are mainstream.
Krishi is a seasoned tech journalist with over four years of experience writing about PC hardware, consumer technology, and artificial intelligence. Clarity and accessibility are at the core of Krishi’s writing style. He believes technology writing should empower readers—not confuse them—and he’s committed to ensuring his content is always easy to understand without sacrificing accuracy or depth. Over the years, Krishi has contributed to some of the most reputable names in the industry, including Techopedia, TechRadar, and Tom’s Guide. A man of many talents, Krishi has also proven his mettle as a crypto writer, tackling complex topics with both ease and zeal. His work spans various formats—from in-depth explainers and news coverage to feature pieces and buying guides. Behind the scenes, Krishi operates from a dual-monitor setup (including a 29-inch LG UltraWide) that’s always buzzing with news feeds, technical documentation, and research notes, as well as the occasional gaming sessions that keep him fresh. Krishi thrives on staying current, always ready to dive into the latest announcements, industry shifts, and their far-reaching impacts. When he’s not deep into research on the latest PC hardware news, Krishi would love to chat with you about day trading and the financial markets—oh! And cricket, as well.
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